Hi from Eastern Europe!

It’s been more than a week since I updated this blog, so here I am!

I’m currently at my hostel in Sofia, Bulgaria. The 22nd Summer Deaflympics is on at the moment, and so far, it’s been awesome. I’m loving the spirit of the Deaf community, especially at a major event. I have been meeting so many people, and there’s a fantastic group of Australian supporters here as well. We’re almost like celebrities – people are constantly surprised that we flew all the way here to have the time of our lives.

I’ve been using International Sign the whole time I’ve been here – it’s a challenge but nevertheless, I’ve been able to hold a couple of excellent conversations with a number of people. When I’m with my fellow Australians, I revert back to Auslan. One of my favourite things about knowing sign language is the ability to revert between a couple of sign languages.

Sofia is an interesting city – there are quite a few hidden gems, and people here are quite lovely. There’s very little English here, but I’ve managed to get by using miming and maps. Everything here is so unbelievably cheap. It’s quite hot here but not as hot as it gets back home. Food and drinks here are quite good – although I got drunk on the night of the opening ceremony – now that was funny!

You know how I wanted to go to Europe, just to have the time of my life, right? Well, I didn’t expect to fall for someone. Someone beyond my reach. It’s doing my head in, and I’m annoyed. Anyways, I’m not going to let this ruin my trip, so I’ll shut up…but I’ll be honest that I need to talk to someone about it.

I’ve got 5 days left in Sofia, so the next update will probably be on the last day or when I’m in Serbia.